A fairy's love
by Lorelei Candice Black
Summary: Nova and Dreamy. After Snow and Emma come back from the Enchanted Forest, Leroy bumps into Nova and they talk, explain things. They still love each other. What will they do? Happy ending. Happy Valentine's day.


**_A fairy's love_**

_Once Upon a Time_

_Astride(Nova)/Leroy(ex-Dreamy - Grumpy)_

_A Valentine's day special romance just for you lovely readers,_

_Enjoy,_

_Lorelei Candice Black._

* * *

Leroy was walking home after the celebrations for Emma and Snow's return and he was ready for a good long night of sleep. He had been surprised that Regina had come and played nice but after all, everyone could change so why not her? If evil wasn't born but made, then it could be undone too and her lasagnas had been far from evil. Anyone that could bake that well couldn't be completely evil. Emma had been right to invite her.

Right before he crossed the street, Leroy looked up at the sky. It was something he did every so often, mostly when he felt lonely. The stars reminded him of that night, back when he was still Dreamy, the night when he had thought he would get a happy ending, when he thought he would be able to live his love with Nova and be happy.

He had been naive to think they would let them be together back then. Now he had his memories with Astride from before Emma broke the curse and he cherished those above all, refusing to let them go. It was hard now, knowing that she was around, not too far away. Ever since the curse broke he had worked very hard to stay away from her, to do his best not to be tempted. He knew that the moment he saw her he wouldn't be able to stop himself, he would want to be with her again, to leave everything and everyone if he had to and he couldn't do this to her, she had a destiny and he was just a dwarf.

He did wonder why fairies couldn't be in love, why dwarfs weren't allowed to love. Maybe Blue didn't want her fairies to love because she had a broken heart or something, who knew.

Sighting, he forced his eyes away from the stars and crossed the street without looking. There was barely never any cars driving in the middle of the night anyway and when there was they were easy to hear coming. Leroy knew by heart the way from his apartment to Granny's and back and he didn't have to concentrate or even to look around. It was like his feet knew when to turn, which side of the sidewalk to walk on to avoid bumping into polls or trashcans.

Instinctively, he turned right at the next corner, the usual way he took when he went home. He walked, mumbling grumpily about street lamps that weren't working well when he bumped into someone small and soft. He didn't have to look. Her scent and the way his heart started beating was indication enough and if they hadn't been, the butterflies in his stomach definitely were.

"Nova." He whispered before adding: "Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm...fine." She replied, looking up at him.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." he apologized as they both stood back up.

"It's okay, neither was I. It's been a while..." She said, looking up at him with a look that was very clear: she still loved him.

"Yes... Ever since the curse was broken I've been pretty busy..." He replied, looking down.

"You don't have to avoid me, you know. We're both grown ups. I understand that you don't love me, I accepted it all those years ago." She told him.

"What? No! I..." he exclaimed looking up at her.

"Leroy?" She asked him when she saw him hesitating.

"I do Love you. The only reason I told you those things and left you was because Blue made me. She made me feel guilty about taking you away from your bright future as a Fairy Godmother... I didn't want to stand in the way of your destiny..." He explained.

"This was not her call to make! It was my decision!" Astride exclaimed, an angry look on her face.

"I.. I tried coming back to you, you know." He confessed.

"What? When?" She asked.

"Right before I met Snow. I was arrested because I bought a diamond ring from someone who had stolen it. Unfortunately I didn't know that it had been stolen and they arrested me instead of the one who sold it to me." He explained.

"Then you got caught up in Snow's battle against Regina and was too busy to do anything..." She guessed.

"More like I wanted to wait until Regina was dealt with so it was a safe realm when I found you and tried to win you back." He confessed, blushing.

"You wouldn't have had much efforts to do in order to win me back." She replied, blushing too.

"What are you doing out so late anyway?" he asked her.

"Oh, I forgot to bring the rent money to M. Gold so I dropped it off in his mailbox so he can find it in the morning. We don't want any trouble with him." Astride explained.

"You want me to walk you back?" He suggested.

"I'd love that." she smiled.

As Leroy walked her back to the convent, they talked some more, enjoying each other's presence, feeling like they were finally whole again because they were together.

"I don't have to go back you know." She told him.

"You'd still be willing to give up on being a fairy just so we can be together?" he asked her.

"Of course I would." She assured him.

"I... I'd love that, you have no idea how much but... You should take the night to think about it and talk about it with Blue before you leave it all behind." He suggested, hating himself for not running away with her this instant.

"You think she'll let me go?" Nova asked him.

"She's not going to hold you against your will but maybe if you talk with her first, you won't have to give up your wings." he explained.

"You're right. It's not like I'm going to change my mind anyway." She replied, nodding.

"If you did I'd understand."

"I won't. I love you. I want to be with you Leroy." She assured him.

"Well then, you know where to find me when you've talked things out with Blue. I...my apartment is small but there's room for you." He replied with a blush.

"Thank you Leroy. I'm glad I ran into you tonight." she replied, blushing also.

"You should get inside before someone starts wondering where you are." he suggested and with a soft kiss on each other's lips, they parted ways, knowing they would see each other again the next day.

.

The next morning, Leroy found Henry, Snow, David and Emma at Granny's and told them everything about his Love story with Nova. He figured that he might need allies in this and this was the best way to get some.

"It's not going to be easy for the two of you, people will be talking..." Emma said when he was done.

"I know... That's why I'm telling you everything first." He replied.

"We'll, you've got our support Leroy." David said.

"Yes, you were there for me, I'll be there for you. That's what friends are for, right?" Snow nodded.

"Whatever I can do for you, I'll do it. Love is a worthy cause right?" Emma asked and Henry nodded.

"I just hope Blue won't be able to talk her out of it this morning." Leroy said.

"Well, if she can be talked out of this after everything the two of you went through then she's not really worth it. But don't worry, I have a feeling that she's going to be there for you." Snow replied.

"I hope Blue doesn't take her wings away, it would be really unfair." Henry declared and everybody nodded.

"Well, until she comes here I've got to get back to work. Thanks for the support." He announced before he left the dinner.

.

While Leroy was working hard in the mines to find more diamonds to turn into fairy dust, Astride was standing in front of Blue, confronting her about her role in Dreamy leaving her to become Grumpy and telling her that she wanted to be with him and that she was ready to lose her wings if she had to.

"Nova... I can honestly say that I'm disappointed in you. Are you sure that you've thought about it? You're going to regret your wings later." Blue assured her.

"No, I won't. I'm so clumsy I'm always screwing something up here, just like in the old world. I felt like a part of me died when Dreamy told me that he didn't want to leave with me... I love him, as long as I'm with him, I'll be happy. I'd like to keep my wings but I'm ready to lose them if necessary." Nova/Astride replied confidently.

"What will you do if you're not a fairy? Where are you going to live? You can't just pick up and leave, you need a place to stay and a way to provide for food and everything." Blue asked her, hoping to make her change her mind.

"Leroy said that he has room for me in his apartment. I'll find something to do later. Maybe work at the school or something else. We'll find something." Astride nodded.

"I can't keep you here against your will Nova but you need to know that if you leave, you'll lose your wings. You won't be able to be a Fairy Godmother anymore. That dream will be gone." Blue warned her.

"I might lose this but I'll win my Love and my happiness. I can't turn my back on this now. I'm willing to lose my wings, I already told you this." Nova nodded confidently.

"Very well. You're free to leave. Even if I want you to stay here, I can't keep you against your will...But don't forget about my warning Nova."

Nova nodded and left Mother superior's office to gather her few belongings in her small room.

.

By the time Leroy entered Granny's for lunch, everyone was whispering around town and a few of them were starring at him.

"What's their problem now?" He asked Emma (who was eating her lunch at the counter) as he sat by her side.

"Word spreads quickly around this town. One of the nuns went in town and said that Nova was meeting with Blue to be allowed to leave because she loved you. Everyone seems to have an opinion about his." Emma explained.

"Can't they mind their own business?" He groaned.

"That would be too boring for them." Emma chuckled.

"So, what does the populace of Storybrook think of this?" He asked Emma.

"From what I've heard? The majority supports you and thinks that Blue was too hard on Astride. A few of them don't care, some think that it's wrong for a dwarf and a fairy to be together but they don't voice it too loudly because there always seem to be someone around to argue them wrong. I think that it will be easier than you thought." She replied.

"Good." He nodded.

"Also I was thinking... If she needs a job or something, I could do with a receptionist at the station a few hours a day... It would always be a beginning..." Emma offered.

"Thanks, I'll tell her." He smiled at her, seeming a lot of her parents in the sheriff princess.

.

Astride decided to take very little with her, not that she owned much anyway and that's with a small bag on her shoulder that she exited the convent house, not looking behind her in regret once. She was walking to a new life, a happier one and she felt like there was more pep in her step. She knew were Leroy lived but it was too early for him to be there. He was probably on his lunch break and there was a big chance that he was at Granny's so that's where she went, trying her best to ignore everyone's stares and whispers. It wouldn't make her change her mind, it wouldn't change anything.

Nobody noticed when she entered the dinner and she walked behind Leroy, who was eating with Emma Swan.

"Leroy, I'm here." She said softly.

When Leroy turned around, so did everyone else and most people smiled nicely at her. The few who weren't smiling, didn't seem to care all that much.

"Great! Are you hungry? Come and sit." He offered as Ruby walked closer.

"Thank you." Astride nodded before she ordered a burger from Ruby.

Emma welcomed Astride and offered her the part time receptionist job at the station and Astride was more than happy to accept it. It would make her feel bad to live with Leroy and let him pay for everything, even if she knew very well that he would be happy to.

After Emma left to go back to her job, Leroy gave his Love a key to his apartment and went with her, showing her around.

"I'll sleep on the couch, you can have the bedroom until..." He started before he looked down.

They both understood that he meant 'until we share it' but she was grateful that he hadn't voiced it.

"Thank you." She blushed.

He showed her the rest of the place and he realised that he needed to go back to work.

"I'm sorry, I need to go to my job at the hospital, you know, security and all that..." He informed her.

"Okay, well, maybe I should go at the station and see if Emma needs me now..." She suggested.

"God idea, if you want to take the job. If you don't you can say it, you can always take the time to decide on something else. You're...you know...free to decide." He told her.

"Thank you. I'll see what it's like at the station and decide later." She smiled.

"Good idea."

.

That night, Leroy and Nova had dinner with the Charming's and the rest of their friends at Granny's. Everyone accepted them and if they moved forward slowly, they were happy and they knew that they would be happy forever because their love was True.

Later, they would be informed, by no less, that Nova/Astride was still a fairy. Blue didn't have the power the cut off a fairy's wing, that could only happen when the fairy stopped believing in herself. Nova was convinced that she was doing the right thing and so she kept on being a fairy, able to use her powers for good while being free to love whoever she wanted.

Blue ended up getting over herself and stopped ignoring Nova, especially when she saw that the woman still had her fairy powers and that everyone supported her and Leroy's love.

They also found out, a few months later, that Fairies and dwarfs could have babies together. Maybe it was because their love was true, maybe it had always been possible but nobody had tired.

They didn't care.

They were happy and had a great family.

* * *

**So, what did you think?**

**Don't forget to review!**

**Happy Valentine's day!**

**Lorelei Candice Black**


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